Code Geass: Survival Challenge
by SkyDragonKing
Summary: (FORMERLY ASHFORD ACADEMY SURVIVAL CHALLENGE) Ashford Academy's most exciting yearly tradition has come yet again as couples are selected to compete against each other for the fabulous grand prize! Everyone has their reasons, but do they have what it takes to win? THIS IS AN A.U. STORY filled with ACTION! DRAMA! ROMANCE! HUMOR! read and review, feedback is wanted and appreciated!
1. Part 1: Surprise!

**Title:** Code Geass: Survival Challenge

**Author:** SkyDragonKing

**Genre: **Drama/Action

**Rating:** T

**Summary:** The most exciting of Ashford Academy's yearly traditions takes place as couples are selected to compete and win the fabulous grand prize! This is an AU story plz read & review!

* * *

"Lelouch..." A sweet, squeaky voice called from the side of his bed while a frail hand nudged his shoulder. He gave no response except the shift in his position remaining asleep still.

"Come on Lelouch, wake up." The voice stiffened a bit, trying to sound more firm and persuasive but the dormant young man gave it no heed as his gentle snoring continued.

"Le-louch!" The voice nearly shouted as two hands were used to shake the sleeping body. Despite the efforts, none were successful in waking Lelouch from his slumber.

Nunnally, the source of the voice grew frustrated in her failed attempts to wake her older brother and huffed after crossing her arms. Her brow furrowed.

"This is impossible." She complained aloud, getting the attention of another.

"What seems to be the problem Nunnally?" Said Sayoko, the caretaker of the young girl stepped in standing next to the seated Nunnally.

"I can't wake this lug up and he's going to make us late for school." Complained Nunnally as Sayoko eyed Lelouch and his sleeping form as he was mangled up in his sheets. A sly grin crossed the maid's face as she cracked her knuckles.

"Not to worry Nunnally, I'm a pro at this sort of thing. Watch this." She said as she walked along the bed until she was standing above Lelouch's head.

"Um, Sayoko, what are you going to do?" A curious Nunnally asked as her caretaker wriggled her fingers, eager to get going.

"The same thing I always do to wake up lazy bums like this." Nunnally could almost hear the evil laugh come from Sayoko as she drew closer to Lelouch.

Suddenly the maid from hell grabbed Lelouch's thin shoulders and pulled him up from his bed before the shaking began. The violent throttling preceded the small slaps that did nothing but leave little red marks on his cheeks.

"Oh, my!" Nunnally gasped as the sounds from the smacks reverberated throughout the room, but just as every attempt before it, failed. Sayoko let go of Lelouch allowing him to slump back down into bed.

"Gee, he must have really had a late night last night, I can't get him up!" Sayoko complained, putting her hands on her hips, she was stumped.

"Oh wait Sayoko, why don't we try this." Nunnally said as the thought popped into her head, and it was so simple. She reached over the bed, her hand hovering over her brother until it found his nose. Her hand clamped down Lelouch's nose, shutting his nostrils off from inhaling any oxygen. Now it was only a matter of time before...

"G-ah!" Came the startled cry from Lelouch as he shot up from his lying down position, sitting straight up on his bed, finally opening his violet eyes as her ran a hand through his black hair. He heard a couple of familiar chuckles to the left of him so he turned to find his sister and caretaker both standing there.

"W-what are you two doing in my room...?" He nearly mumbled before a stinging sensation overcame in his cheeks. "Ah...!" He winced as he held his face, rubbing the sore spots.

"You wouldn't wake up, and your alarm clock is busted again." Nunnally said looking at her big brother through her big violet eyes as Lelouch turned, leaning over the edge of his bed looking at the aforementioned hardware that rested on his nightstand.

"Grr, piece of junk." He muttered as he stood up, stretching himself up before a yawn. "...What time is it?" He asked both ladies.

"Why it's 8:10 Lelouch." Sayoko said cheerily as she looked at the watch on her wrist, his eyes almost popped out of his head.

"What! I only have twenty minutes until class starts..!" He shouted before he began to scramble around his room, pulling whatever pieces of his school uniform together.

"You're not the only one, I'm going to be late too, so get a move on." Nunnally reminded him as she directed her wheelchair out of the room with Sayoko close behind, giving her brother the space.

Lelouch hopped into his pants, struggling to get his foot through the last pant leg until he stumbled over his left shoe, causing him to fall straight to the floor.

"Ugh, I really need to stop staying out so late..." He said to no one in particular as he picked himself up to finish putting on his pants. "At this rate I'll sleep the whole day away." Lelouch went for his shirt next and buttoned it up.

"But the thing is, I can't." He said to his reflection in the mirror, adjusting the collar of his shirt and gave himself one more look. He stared at himself, fully dressed in his school uniform, the typical male attire of Ashford Academy students that consisted of black pants, shoes, a white button-up shirt and a black jacket with gold trimmings, buttons and the school crest on the collar, also gold.

Satisfied with his dress, Lelouch quickly moved on to the next phase of his daily routine. He only had fourteen minutes left to be out the door and in class, so he had to move fast.

* * *

"Hey Kallen...Kallen hunny..." A brown haired, blue eyed woman knocked on the door of her daughter's room, but received no answer. "Your going to be late for school hunny." Kallen's mother reminded with one last knock before walking down the hall.

Meanwhile, behind the door, Kallen, the aforementioned girl was a little preoccupied.

"Ninety...eight...ninety-nine...!" The young woman counted, strained as she continued to perform abdominal crunches taking a deep breath before finishing the set. "One...hundred!" She breathed before standing up from her worked out work out. Leaving her room, Kallen walked one door over and into the bathroom.

"She doesn't have to keep telling me, I know I'm running late." Kallen grumbled after she washed her face in the sink, looking herself in the mirror with her crystal blue eyes as her parted red bangs framed her clean face. Not being one for making herself up, she decided that was enough and carried on, back into her room.

Quickly draping herself in her school attire, Kallen pulled up her blue socks that stopped below her knee, followed by her black skirt that ended higher than mid-thigh, a little too short of a skirt for her taste. After buttoning up her white collared shirt and closing her beige jacket, Kallen fastened the green tie that bore the school crest around her neck, knot pre-tied. All ready to go, Kallen grabbed her bag and was on her way. Outside her door, Kallen's mother had arrived again, ready to leave another knock.

"Kal...ah!" Her mother jumped out of the way as the door flung open, away from her knuckle as Kallen charged out of the room and out of the apartment.

"I guess she was ready...!" Her startled mother let out a nervous laugh, watching her daughter bolt out the door.

Outside, Kallen jogged down the street towards the train station, hoping to catch the final train that would drop her off at school on time.

"Oi, Kallen wait up!" She heard an obnoxious voice call out as she stopped at the foot of the train station stairs.

"Oh, I thought it was you Tamaki." Kallen said dryly as her eyes rolled, ignoring the stupid grin shining over the stubble on Tamaki's face. Shinichiro Tamaki, Kallen's long time...friend? Maybe so, he stomped his foot on the ground and clenched his fists.

"Is that any way to greet a friend!?" He shouted at her while she shook her head.

"Relax you, you...you stink." Kallen pinched her nostrils shut after catching a whiff of Tamaki. "When was the last time you washed your uniform?"

"Whatta 'ya mean?" He raised a brow in confusion before looking down at his partially complete school uniform, complete with food stains along the cuff of the sleeves. "I think I look pretty good." It was Kallen's turn to raise a brow at him but in passiveness, uwilling to put up with the loud and rude Tamaki, it was just too early in the day.

"Speakin' of lookin' good..." Tamaki held his chin as his eyes looked over Kallen's slightly busty, athletic form and the way it looked in her school uniform, going obviously noticed. "I'd say you're fillin' out pre..."

Tamaki was about to comment before Kallen's fist came into his field of vision.

WHAM!

Kallen's punch landed right in between Tamaki's eyes. "Stop ogling, you perv...huh?" Kallen shook her fist at the punch drunk male that stumbled before her until a whistle came in earshot.

"Oh dammit it, the train!" Kallen muttered before running up the stairs onto the terminal.

"Hey wait up!" Tamaki hollered, straightening himself out before chasing his attacker and catching the train.

* * *

"Okay Nunnally, I'll see you after school alright?" Lelouch said to his handicapped little sister as they waited outside the door to what presumably was Nunnally's first period class.

Luckily for Lelouch, he and Nunnally lived at the Ashford Manor which was on school grounds so the commute was extremely simple, making his rushed mornings easier.

At Ashford Academy, Lelouch was a senior while Nunnally was only a freshmen, so he felt responsible for showing her around until she felt comfortable with her surroundings, regardless of the fact that she was restrained to a wheelchair.

"All right Lelouch, just be careful today." She playfully reminded her big brother, who blinked at her curiously before realizing the joke, he still wasn't fully awake.

"Heh, right." He smiled as he reached his hand out and patted Nunnaly on top of her head before turning.

"Lelouch?" He heard Nunnally say before he had the chance to walk away.

"Hmm?" Lelouch looked over his shoulder, making eye contact with his sister.

"Umm...never mind, I'm sure you'll find out later." Nunnally dismissed her own thought, twirling a finger through her long light brown locks. Blinking at her again Lelouch slowly turned his head and walked away, into the traffic of commuting students.

As Lelouch walked down the hallway towards his class, which was conveniently located in the same corridor, he was being watched. His onlooker, one Shirley Fenette standing next to the doorway of her class which she happened to share with Lelouch.

Her amber eyes followed Lelouch as he walked down the hall before she unknowingly let out an affectionate sigh as she stroked her orange hair. Shirley was lost in her thoughts until someone's laughter cut them short.

"Shirley, you must be kidding me?" Shirley sharply turned herself around to find her close friend Milly Ashford standing behind her. Melinda Ashford, as in Ashford Academy Ashford, or Milly for short was the closest thing to a Barbie doll in real life. Blonde hair, blue eyes, generous assets, just simply gorgeous, not to say that Shirley wasn't pretty cute herself.

"O-oh Milly hey...!" Shirley tired to disregard her gazing at Lelouch, but it would take more than that to shift Milly's focus.

"When are you finally going to admit you're nuts over Lu-Lu." Milly crossed her arms as she asked her ginger friend.

"Since when do_ you_ call him that?!" Shirley snapped back and gasped once she realized her reaction and covered her mouth. As far as Shirley knew, she was the only one who called Lelouch Lu-Lu, the nickname _she_ gave him. Seeing that she struck a nerve, Milly decided to take this matter a little further.

"It's so cute how you get all defensive about him. I wish I had that sort of relationship with someone." She mused, getting Shirley's face all red.

"It...It's not like that!" Shirley pleaded only to receive laughter in response.

"Whatever you say Shirley, whatever you say." Milly smirked as she stepped through the doorway, entering class, leaving Shirley in the hall to get one last look at the approaching Lelouch before following her.

"Hey Lelouch!" Someone else called out.

"Oomph!" Lelouch held his stomach, crumpled over in pain after suffering a hit in the gut.

"I thought you would cut class again today slacker." Lelouch's attacker said, cracking his knuckle that was used for the assault.

"What's...up Su...zaku?" Lelouch managed a grin as he slowly straightened himself out. "You know...you still hit like a bitch."

"Shut up." Suzaku smirked as he gave Lelouch another punch, this time in the shoulder.

Suzaku Kururugi, believe it or not, is Lelouch's best friend. Standing slightly shorter than his punching bag with brown wavy hair and green eyes and athletic build, Suzaku was very different from Lelouch.

"What makes you think I'd skip class anyway?" Lelouch raised a brow at his friend, who always went to class.

"Because Lelouch Lamperouge doesn't go to class on consecutive days and would rather rip off gambling rings than sit through physics." Explained Suzaku, arms crossed over his chest, studied in his friend's habits.

"Well sorry if I'm not a good little boy scout like you, but I like making money." Lelouch smirked as he and Suzaku approached their class. Suzaku proceeded to cock his arm back and make a fist.

"Then get a...job!" He said as he let his punch go and hit Lelouch in the back, making the boy wince yet again. Yet Lelouch kept the smirk on his face as they entered their class.

Just as Lelouch set foot in the classroom and Suzaku still behind, someone ran past them. "Excuse me." The girl said very quickly as she brushed elbows with the boys, making them stop in their tracks. The boys looked at each other and shrugged.

The late bell rang at that moment, that girl had some pretty good timing; looking at the clock across the room Lelouch read the time as 8:30 sharp and grabbed the edge of the door and pushed.

"Wha...hey!" Suzaku called, noticing Lelouch's actions.

"Sorry Suzaku, but your late." Lelocuh shrugged pointing downward causing Suzaku to take a glance. He was still outside the classroom and when he looked back up the door shut.

"Hey, let me in!" He hollered, banging on the door with his fist, but on the other side Lelouch simply smirked before finding himself a seat.

_That's for that gut-check you just gave me. _Lelouch thought as he walked down the aisle of occupied desks.

Taking a look, he only noticed two seats that were available, one which was directly next to Shirley and the other while still adjacent to her was directly next to the girl that just ran past him, Kallen.

"Good morning Lelouch!" He heard Shirley greet him as she did virtually every day, and he smiled and nodded, as usual. He also received a look from Kallen which he met. Why did she always look at him like that, like she didn't have any patience? It made him think.

Always one to find answers to his questions, Lelouch decided to take the seat between the two girls, directly next to Kallen and when he sat, the two exchanged glares.

"All right, all right boys and girls, settle down settle down." The class instructor, Professor Lloyd Asplund (told you this was an AU) rose from his desk, hushing his talkative class as he walked to the door, letting Suzaku in. "Don't make tardiness a habit Mr. Kururugi." He added as he pushed the bridge of his glasses up his nose.

"Wha-, but, but..." The student stumbled as the class collectively chuckled at the exchange.

"Please take a seat so I can make my announcement." Professor Lloyd smiled, waving his hand, shooing Suzaku away to take a seat before the class quieted again.

"Thanks for nothing, dick!" Suzaku whispered as he gave Lelouch a smack in the back of the head before taking the seat next to Shirley.

"Now then class, you might be as heartbroken as I when I heard of it but, the senior assembly that was scheduled for tomorrow has been bumped up and is actually taking place in twenty minutes, ruining the lesson I had planned for today." He said with his flowy hand gestures before the class cheered.

Well not the _whole_ class was celebrating; Lelouch dropped his head on the desk and Kallen's eyes went wide.

_I rushed for no reason...?! _Was the collective thought.

"It's a shame too, I was going to demonstrate the mechanical arms today...I guess there's always tomorrow." Lloyd sighed as he spoke to no one in particular.

"Does our _lovely_ class president have any idea what this assembly is about?" A student turned in his seat to ask Milly, his slicked blue hair bounced lightly behind him.

"Actually Rivalz, I haven't the slightest idea." The blonde shrugged with an innocent smile.

"Well Milly, if you don't know then..." Shirley said from behind her, leaning forward in her seat.

"You don't think...?" Rivalz inquired, now sitting backwards in his chair, facing the conversation.

"That registration for the Senior Challenge ended already? I don't know, it's possible." Milly pondered, but her words also attracted the attention of Kallen, who remained in her seat, but her eyes expressed her curiosity completely.

_I hope that's the case, I've been waiting forever on that competition to start, I just need to be selected first._ The red haired girl thought as she eyed the exchange going on in front of her.

"I guess now's a better time than any; all right boys and girls to the performing arts theater." Professor Lloyd told his students as they began to rise from their seats and file out of the room.

Before she pushed her chair out, Kallen's school bag dropped from it's hanging position on the backrest.

"Oh, let me get that Kallen." Lelouch offered, seeing the drop from the corner of his eye, but when his hand wrapped around the handle he found it was difficult to hoist up.

"Man, this thing's heavy, what do you have in here?" Lelouch asked, arm straining a bit holding the bag up before Kallen swiped it from him.

"Don't worry about it!" She snapped, slinging the bag over her shoulder before she proceeded to make her way out of the room being watched by Lelouch on every step, while he had eyes on him, amber eyes that observed behind fiery orange hair.

* * *

Much of the seniors were filing into the auditorium while the rest were already seated when Lelouch's class arrived, dispersing amongst the rest of the student body. The auditorium itself was moderately sized given that the total number of students at Ashford tallied off at somewhere around eight hundred, with only about a quarter of it being used.

With the current period's classes staying grouped together, all off Professor Lloyd's class occupied the same three rows with Lelouch making way for the middle.

"I wonder how they're going to select the participants this year, I heard last year they bobbed for apples." Rivalz speculated as he filed down the row of seats, parking himself next to Lelouch.

"Don't tell me you're actually _excited_ about this glamorized extortion Rivalz?" Lelouch rolled his eyes at his friend, and unknowingly receiving another glare from Kallen sitting in the row behind him.

"Yeah I can't wait, they always give some fabulous mystery prize to the winners. It's so exciting!" Shirley turned around from her seat in the row ahead, her enthusiasm evident.

"You too Shirley?" Lelouch turned, brow raised as he received a smile and nod in response.

"I'm on board with this too, and what's wrong with a little competition?" Suzaku smirked at Lelouch from further down his row past Rivalz.

"It looks like your opinion is overruled Lelouch, too bad." Milly shrugged, overhearing their conversation from a little further down Shirley's row. Lelouch faked a frown at his class president.

"He's just sour because he didn't register." Rivalz commented hoping to get a rise out of Lelouch but he did not bite.

"You really didn't register Lu-Lu?" Shirley asked intently while glares were still being given from the row above. The lights in the room dimmed, leaving the audience in darkness, ending the line of questioning as everyone turned to face the stage.

"No, I didn't have the time." Lelouch mumbled, still answering the question regardless, before the stage lights went on. A woman, not so much older than the audience, with indigo hair and light blue eyes. Lelouch remembered her face as a substitute teacher he had a few times as she stepped up to the podium that was located center stage.

"Welcome seniors, as you may or may not know, this assembly is for the announcement of the Ashford Senior Challenge!" The woman said before stopping briefly, allowing applause to ensue. Once the crowd silenced she continued.

"Now to prese..." The speaker began until she stopped to place a finger on her earpiece, pushing it closer. "Oh right now?" She unknowingly said into the microphone. "Yes sir right away." The woman muttered before redirecting her attention to her audience.

"Sorry about that students, but it is now my pleasure to present to you, your headmaster, Ruben K. Ashford!" She said, arms open before the stage went dark and smoke filled the area including several rows of coughing students.

Rising up to the stage from a platform underneath, along with laser light effects, was Ashford Academy's current headmaster. With his gray slicked back hair and thick gray sideburns trailing down the sides of his slightly wrinkled face, the headmaster took the stage in a rock and roll pose complete with glittery cape and jacket.

"Thank you, thank you, thank 'ya very much!" He said once fully elevated to the stage, his students applauding in what can only be conceived as general skepticism.

"G-gee Milly, your grandpa really seems to be uh...rockin' out...!" Rivalz commented as his hands slowed their applause. "Milly?" Shirley called after the silent response to Rivalz's comment. They, along with Lelouch, turned to find the Ashford girl pulling the end of her tie to tighten it as much as possible around her neck.

"Tha-ats m-m-my...gramps!" Milly, more embarrassed than words can describe, said through gritted teeth as she feigned a smile while tugging on her tie even more.

_Should've never given him that CD, he goes through phases like a little kid...!_ Was her thought as she turned around to face the stage and the headmaster, her grandfather's antics.

"Now my little dudes and dudettes I'm about to drop kickin' tune on you right now so check it out. For the selection of this year's gig, we're gonna change it up, we're gonna make it...rock!" Headmaster Ashford began as the stage lights around him went out, intensifying the spotlight that was directed on him.

"My lovely assistant babe Ms. Croomy, I think it's about that time to...unveil The Gambler, uh huh uh huh." A dramatic pose from Ashford preceded the stage lights to switch back on revealing what appeared to be a giant slot machine with a giant screen as its face and pull lever on the side with Ms. Croomy, the previous speaker, standing next to it.

"Once this mamma jamma gets spinning, it will pick each team, one at a time; first it'll pick the little ladies then the dudes. Is that all clear, my rockin' students?" The headmaster explained, but received blinking stares in response; in fact if they were outside they would've heard crickets chirping.

"I said, YOU GET THAT?!" He shouted into his mic causing a sudden uproar from the crowd in front of him. Smirking in satisfaction, Ashford decided to proceed. Turning to Ms. Croomy he continued.

"All right baby, I think we're about ready to get groovin." He said, telling her to begin.

"Enough with the 'baby' stuff." She muttered, giving her superior a death glare causing Ashford to stiffen up from his relaxed, 'rockin' pose.

"All right, now unlike previous years, this year's selection for the Senior Challenge will be entirely random. Like Headmaster Ashford explained, once I pull the lever, the machine will pick each team individually, and like every year there will only be four teams competing. That means, that out of the hundreds of you the registered, only eight will get the chance to compete for the grand prize." She said stepping up to the pull lever on the side of the machine.

"Remember, your name and picture will only appear in the machine if you registered on time." Ms. Croomy explained one last time before placing her hand on the lever.

"Let's get rockin' and rollin'!" Ashford cheered as Croomy pulled the lever, initiating the selection process.

As the machine started, two slots began rolling with increasing speed with one side full of female students while the other was packed male students, as their school photos rolled quickly through the machine. The random selection was underway and every student was watching intently, well every student except for one.

"The first A's first selection is...!" Croomy said, noticing the first slot, the female slot beginning to slow down and the crowd growing quiet, quieter than they were during Ashford's explanation.

The first slot was nearing its halt, moving very slowly, almost stopping on the last few selections making the students passed up cry in agony, just missing the cut. The slot slowed even further, a collective gasp forming from the female students until finally...

"Team A's first selection is...Shirley Fenette!" Ashford called out. "Come on down to the stage Shirley!"

"Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" Shirley squealed as she leapt out of her seat, clapping her hands excitingly. "I was picked, I was picked!" She cheered as she literally hugged everyone she passed as she sidled past the row of seats and into the aisle.

Shirley couldn't hold back her excitement as she smiled widely as she made her way down, ignoring all the glares she was getting from her fellow female students while all the guys were still too anxious as the awaited the next selection.

The next slot was assuming the same actions as the other one did, slowing its pace, this time making the male students nervous.

Shirley stepped up to the stage where the headmaster was waiting with an extended hand to congratulate her. Being too exited, Shirley ignored the handshake offer and just went in for a hug. After getting her hug returned Shirley took her selected spot on stage, waiting for her eventual teammate.

"Suzaku Kururugi! You have been selected!" Ashford called out taking the chosen student by surprise.

"Uh, wha...! I'm selected, really?!" He questioned, he couldn't believe it as he slowly rose up from his chair. He received some cheers from his classmates but mostly other guys gritting their teeth.

"Way to go buddy!" Rivalz congratulated Suzaku as he made his way down the row of seats, the people getting up to let him pass, but there was one who didn't move.

"L-Lelouch, get up I can't pass." He said at his friend who just stared up at him. They exchanged glares momentarily until Lelouch finally closed his eyes and stood up. Suzaku turned and continued walking.

"Just be careful Suzaku." He heard Lelouch's voice just after he passed him. Stopping in his tracks, Suzaku looked over his shoulder and found Lelouch looking ahead at the stage before he turned back around and joined his new teammate Shirley as they greeted each other with smiles.

"Let's keep rollin' along now baby!" Ashford said before Croomy hoisted the lever down, beginning the random selection process again.

"Selection for Team B is underway!" Croomy declared as the slot machine resumed its spinning.

The crowd reacted the same way it did for the first selection, on the edge of their seats waiting. The female slot slowed down a little more and more until it finally came to a halt.

"Team B's first selection is Melinda Ashford! W-wait, Milly...?!" Headmaster Ashford said before doing a double take, making sure it was his granddaughter's image on the screen. It was and it came as a surprise to Milly as well.

"To be honest, I really wasn't expecting this!" Milly meekly smiled as she stood up and made her way to the stage.

There were whispers floating around the crowd as Milly walked, and without directly hearing them she had a good idea what they were saying. This caused her to drop her smile momentarily before she walked up to the stage where her grandfather was waiting.

"Congratulations Milly, I-! Ashford began, holding his arms out but his 'Silly-Milly' had another idea; she made a quick move to grab his shirt and pulled him close.

"Cut out the rock routine or else I'm telling grandma!" She gave him a quiet warning before letting go and assuming a spot on stage next to Shirley and Suzaku whom she exchanged smiles with. The headmaster gulped and loosened his collar before redirecting his attention to the machine.

The male slot soon followed suit as it eventually stopped and revealed a face to an excited audience.

"And the second selection for Team B is Gino Weinberg!" A tall blonde student with blue eyes rose up and waved to the crowd like a hero, while a certain blue haired student gaped in horror. Gino Weinberg walked towards the stage. Well built, tall, athletic, looking at him anyone could perceive that he was a prototypical jock and his arrogant attitude sure helped him fit the role.

He shook the headmaster's hand as he took the stage and gave Milly a toothy smirk as he walked over to her as she merely rolled her eyes

"Don't worry about a thing Madame Prez, with the way things look so far, I can win this thing single handedly." He snorted as he looked down into the crowd.

"Whatever you say Gino...!" Milly huffed and shrugged her shoulders.

"Have your doubts?" Gino asked, sensing her tone, still wearing that smirk. Milly looked up at him, making brief eye contact.

"Until the competition begins, I do." She said as a small smile crept on her lips while the selection process continued.

"The first selection for Team C is Anya Alstreim!" Came the announcement before a shorter girl with light pink hair and pink eyes stood up. Where most other students would be excited out of their skulls to be chosen, Anya didn't seem phased by the moment given the melancholy expression she wore on her face.

Seeing this only made Kallen more irritated; not only had she not been selected yet, but this girl didn't even seem to care! This whole randomness was very aggravating as Kallen gripped the armrests of her chair even tighter.

The stone faced girl walked up to the stage to her designated spot and patiently awaited the announcement of her teammate after receiving a greeting from the headmaster. The male selection was just wrapping up.

"The second spot on Team C goes to Rivalz Cardemonde! Come on down boy!" The headmaster announced before a loud yell was heard throughout the auditorium.

"Woo hoo, I got in!" Rivalz jumped up and down, fists held high in the air in triumph.

"Easy there." He heard someone say, and turned to find it was Lelouch. Giving him a small smile of congratulations, Lelouch saw Rivalz off as he almost ran down to the stage.

"Hiya!" He enthusiastically greeted the headmaster, violently shaking his hand before walking across the stage, waving at Suzaku and Shirley before stopping not next to his teammate Anya but in front of Milly.

"Milly...?" Rivalz said, staring intently at the blonde girl.

"Yeah Riv?" She asked, looking back at him, noticing the young man looked a little hesitant.

"Uh...good luck!" He smiled before jogging over to his spot next to Anya. Milly smiled back, watching Rivals go.

"Anything about that I should know?" Gino asked, raising a brow at his fellow blonde. Milly simply looked up and shook her head bearing the same smile.

"And now for the selection for Team D, the final selections." The headmaster said. Any chatter that was going on in the crowd was immediately silenced.

"Ms. Croomy, if you please." Ashford turned to his assistant before she reached up and tugged on the lever one final time, setting the machine in motion.

By now Kallen and every other student in the audience were extremely tense. Kallen had almost ripped through the cushion of her armrests she had gripped them so tightly She wanted this so badly, if she wasn't picked then she would never be able to...She almost couldn't bear it. Kallen put her head down and closed her eyes, she couldn't take it.

"The first pick for Team D is Kallen Kozuki!" She heard.

_Oh great, just great. Of course I didn't get..._ She yelled in her mind, feeling her eyes beginning to well up.

"What are you doing get up!" She heard Tamaki yell from behind her. Quickly picking her head up Kallen looked around, confused.

"Wha-!" She gasped and found all the other students around her staring at her.

"Kallen Kozuki come on down!" She heard the headmaster say. Looking at the stage she saw the slot machine's first slot had stopped and landed on her picture.

She couldn't believe it she was selected! She had her chance to...

"Get up already!" Tamaki shouted, smacking her in the back, causing Kallen to stand up. She had to look at the machine again just to make sure it was right, it was.

Taking a deep breath Kallen managed to calm herself down before she sidled out of the row of seats and down the aisle to get to the stage. She gave the headmaster a quiet smile before she shook his hand. Shirley, Suzaku, Milly and Rivalz all smiled back at Kallen as she took her spot on the stage.

Kallen was chosen but now for her teammate.

The male slot was almost done, it reached a snail's pace as it passed one student after another. Everyone anxiously awaited the final selection, the male students in the front rows practically toppling over each other to get a closer look at the machine as it reached its last spin. The whole theater was quiet, everyone was waiting; what some of these waiting students wouldn't give to get that last selection. The anticipation reached its highest point and just as it climaxed the selection was made.

"The final selection for the Senior challenge is..." Ashford started as the slot was just about to stop. Everyone looking intently, the final spot for the chance at the grand prize was about to be filled. Kallen looked with a different interest than others, waiting for her teammate to be chosen and she hoped she would get someone competent.

"Lelouch Lamperouge!" Declared Ashford, almost everyone on stage's jaws dropped. Kallen's eyes went wide.

"You've got to be kidding?!"

What?! How could this happen? Lelouch didn't even register, how did his name wind up in the slot machine's database. Ms. Croomy specifically said that only registered students would be selected. So how is this even possible?

Slowly Lelouch stood up, his mind still racing as he began to wriggle his way out of the row of seats. As he walked down the aisle he started to think further.

How did his name get entered? It wasn't him obviously, and the only way he could have been registered is if there was someone else who knew enough personal information about him to fill out the registration. Someone close, someone he knew intimately. Suzaku? No he wouldn't go to such lengths for a chance occurrence Shirley, Milly? Sure they liked to mess with him from time to time but nothing of this caliber. If not them then who?

That's when Lelouch stopped his walking, it had come to him. He had remembered what was said earlier this morning.

'Umm...never mind, I'm sure you'll find out later.' Lelouch remembered the words spoken to him.

"Nunnally...!" He mumbled.

"Lelouch." He heard Ashford say his name, snapping Lelouch out of his thoughts. He looked up at the waiting headmaster and smiled as he continued making his way on stage.

_Well Nunnally, I did find out but what I want to know now is why._ Lelouch said in his head as he greeted the headmaster. He received confused looks from almost everyone on stage. He shrugged as he walked past them.

Finally Lelouch reached the designated spot on stage, but not without being stared down by Kallen the entire walk over, she didn't look happy.

"I thought you didn't register!" She whispered to him as they stood side by side, not drawing any unwanted attention.

"I guess sometimes I surprise myself." He said back as they both continued to look out into the audience. Kallen turned slightly so that she could get a good look at him.

"Well you better keep surprising yourself, because believe it or not some of us want to be here!" She said in a hushed tone, eyes narrowed at him. Lelouch darted his eyes over to her meeting her gaze.

Lelouch said nothing and only gave his glare as a response. He found it peculiar that she said that as their staring contest continued. Her intense gaze not letting up.

"Students, I give you your competitors for this year's Ashford Academy Senior Challenge!" Headmaster Ashford proclaimed, gesturing to the eight students who stood on the stage in their selected pairs.

* * *

Okay, I finally finished chapter one!

Please please please tell me what you think.

In case you want to see it again the teams are like this:

Shirley Fenette/ Suzaku Kururugi

Milly Ashford/ Gino Weinberg

Anya Alstreim/ Rivalz Cardemonde

Kallen Kozuki/ Lelouch Lamperouge

This is an experimental idea I had and just had to get it written down and I'm very excited about it.

**Next time: The four teams have been selected, now the competitors will have the rules explained to them before they break off and meet their coaches as the next phase begins. What challenges will await the chosen students? Read more to find out!**


	2. Part 2: Impressions

**Title:** Code Geass: Survival Challenge

**Author:** SkyDragonKing

**Genre: **Drama/Action

**Rating:** T

**Summary:** The most exciting of Ashford Academy's yearly traditions takes place as couples are selected to compete and win the fabulous grand prize! This is an AU story plz read & review!

* * *

Just a couple of things before I start:

I noticed some people weren't crazy about what I did to Milly or rather 'Melinda''s name. I just figured Milly has to be short for something and it does sound nice when you say it, doesn't it? idk I like the name personally so :p

A thanks to all the reviewers so far, as well as those who fav'd and put this story on story alert, I am forever grateful for your feedback and interest and I promise to make this story out to be the best it can. how cheesy did that read?

* * *

The four newly selected teams stood there on stage looking out to the applauding crowd of their peers from their respective standing locations. Some were excited, some were nervous, others were calm and collected, one was confused and the last, agitated.

Lelouch stood next to his selected teammate Kallen, his mind working, trying to process possible causes for Nunnally's actions. He worked it out in his head and the only other person other than himself who knew enough about him to register him for the challenge was Nunnally. But why did she do it? That was the question that was plaquing him.

Kallen's thoughts on the other hand were a bit more, well, obscene; if her thoughts were heard, those with virgin ears would certainly be spoiled. Mother F$%&er!

She just _had_ to be paired up with him, right? The lazy class cutting bum is her teammate. Kallen was not pleased at all with her partner. Why couldn't she get someone with an athletic reputation like Suzaku or Gino to work with? After all this is the Senior Challenge and physical tests are very common.

"Hmph." Kallen huffed as she crossed her arms under her chest, still looking forward and maintaining a neutral expression, as to not draw attention to herself. She shot a glance over to her teammate as he gave slight smiles and short waves to the crowd.

"That's all for the show baby, now y'all gotta go!" The headmaster said into the mic, indirectly dismissing the student audience as it took them a few seconds to pick up on what Ashford was saying; okay actually it took all the lights in the theater to come on for the students to get the hint.

Staying behind were the newly selected teams as they awaited further instructions. As the audience cleared, the sound the slot machine that selected the teams, being lowered under the stage resonated through the room. Once the ruckus the machine created ceased, the headmaster turned to the chosen students.

"Er hem! All right chosen students, congratulations on your selection to the Senior Challenge." He said in a surprisingly normal voice.

"What happened to his rock impersonation?" Shirley whispered to her teammate Suzaku who shrugged. Next to them was Milly, shaking her head slowly and holding up her cell phone with her finger hovering over the 'call' button, waving it slightly as a warning to her headmaster grandfather that he heeded.

"I must leave you now, but Ms. Croomy here will take you into the conference room to explain to you all the terms and conditions of this year's competition." Ashford said as the blue haired woman approached from the end of the stage, taking her place in front of the students.

"Ms. Croomy, I leave them to you." Ashford dismissed himself before nodding to the students, giving his farewell as he walked offstage and out the theater. Everyone watched him go and once he was gone Ms. Croomy turned to the participants.

"Well now that we're going to be around each other more often you can all just call me Cecile from now on." The woman informally introduced herself to the others with a slight wave.

"Now, as the headmaster explained I will be taking you all to the staff conference room to brief you all on this year's contest. Please hold any questions you have until after we arrive." Cecile reminded them before turning to leave the stage. Slowly, the students began to follow her out the door with some falling back in the huddle to meet with others.

"I thought you didn't sign up!" Suzaku hushed to Lelouch after punching him in the back, causing him to wince.

"Yeah what gives man?" Rivalz scratched his head as he walked by Lelouch's side. The young man in question merely shrugged and gave a meek smile.

"Surprised?" He chuckled, receiving quizzical looks from the other two before Rivalz, shaking his head, walked ahead to catch up with his teammate Anya, Suzaku remained staring at Lelouch.

"Cut the bull Lelouch, just tell me what's going on. I know you're not one for this sort of thing, you said it yourself, so why are you here?" Kururugi questioned Lamperouge, maintaining his gaze. Suzaku knew Lelouch too well it seems. Through a sigh Lelouch answered.

"...Nunnally must have registered me for this contest. This morning she said that there was something I would find out later today, I guess this was it." He answered quietly, not to be overheard by anyone else as the two walked behind the others at a considerable distance.

"But why would she do that? I can't think of a reason for her to do so." Was the reply. Suzaku looked almost as confused as Lelouch did, almost.

"I'm trying to figure that out myself. I'll just have to wait until I go back home and ask her directly, if she's willing to tell me that is." He explained to Suzaku as they continued to trail behind the group.

"Even if I believe you, that your sister signed you up, the odds that were against you for even being selected were staggering." Suzaku began as they turned a corner up a stairwell, after the rest of the group. A smirk came across his face as Lelouch raised a brow at him before a chuckle slipped out.

"Heh, it's almost as if all this was meant to happen, like it was fate or something. Either that or you have some shit luck." Grinned Suzaku as they made their climb step by step.

"You know I don't believe in that fate nonsense Suzaku, and I don't need luck." Lelouch spat as they followed the others, ascending the stairs walking across the landing to the next set of steps.

"Don't fall behind you two!" They heard Cecile call out from above, causing them to look up to find her smiling as well as the rest of the group. Most notable to Suzaku and Lelouch was the angry glare coming from Kallen that was unseen by the rest before she broke it off and continued to follow Cecile.

"I think you do after that look." Suzaku took the lead as he began climbing at a faster rate with his hands in his pockets.

"I don't know what her deal is, come to think of it I don't know much about her at all." Lelouch managed to catch up to his friend as they walked side by side, the group leaving the stairwell and into a new corridor. His eyes not leaving the form of the red haired girl in front of him, studying her through his gaze not going unnoticed.

"You interested?" Suzaku leaned forward into Lelouch's line of vision with a brow raised and grin on his face. Lelouch arched his brows and looked quizzical yet again; him interested in her? His interactions with her earlier were the same as they always were, with her being so short with him. It was clear she had little or no patience with him and he never gets the smiles she usually gives others. Wait, what...whatever!

"...Only for this competition, nothing more." He dismissed the thought as his sight of the girl in question was lost as she walked into the conference room where Cecile was standing waiting for everyone to enter.

"Find a seat next to your teammate." Cecile told the two guys with a smile, Suzaku returned the favor as he and Lelouch entered the conference room. Basically an open room with a large table and cushioned seats, Lelouch stepped inside to find the rest of the group all sitting on one side of the table as a large projector screen covered the wall on the opposite side. Suzaku walked past him and sat down next to Shirley.

"Well, what did he say?" The orange haired girl whispered as she leaned in closer to him.

"He thinks his sister signed him up without his consent." Suzaku explained, adjusting himself in his seat. The sound of the door closing in the background could be heard as Cecile finally entered.

"But why would Nunna do that?" Shirley arched her brow, becoming confused with the situation herself.

"I don't know, but Lelouch doesn't lie about Nunnally so if he's saying she did, I believe him. What about you?" He said, but out of the corner of her eye Shirley could see Lelouch pull up his seat next to Kallen and the passing glances the two gave each other. Those two always did that and it didn't look like they were friendly with each other at all; she worried for Lu-Lu.

"Shirley?" Suzaku's question dissipated her thoughts as she shook her head free.

"Oh, um, I guess I do!" She meekly smiled, shrugging her shoulders. _Don't think about that now Shirley, there's a game to be won!_ She yelled in her mind as the lights in the room went out.

"All right, now that I have you all here, it's time to begin." Cecile announced as the light from the projector screen shined brightly as it started up, getting the full attention of her audience.

"Now, if you remember the Senior Challenges from earlier years, you remember the format. Well this year you can all forget it!" A small stir occurred amongst the competitors, all curiosities peaked as some shifted in their seats.

"Forget it? What do you mean. How much could've changed from just last year?" Milly called out, leaning over the desk separating her and the others from Cecile.

"Well Milly, this new set up for this year's challenge has been in the works for your entire high school career. It's only now did the school board decide on implementing it." The blonde girl slid back into the cushion of her chair.

"So what's different, what are we dealing with?" With folded hands held up by his elbows on the table Lelouch asked, eyes darting over to him, he said what they were all thinking. With a smile Cecile continued.

"Glad you asked Lelouch, now..." She started by pressing on her clicker showing a picture of the entirety of Ashford Academy and all on its grounds. "usually we hold the Senior Challenge here on campus and use the facilities we have." Cecile changed the image on the screen again.

"But for this year, we are having the competition at the nearby Kamine Island!" A picture of a beautiful green island surrounded by crystal blue water dominated the screen.

"Wow, not putting a price on this are 'ya?" Gino sat behind his crossed arms, unable to resist the grin that he wore on his face, surprised just as the rest.

_We're going away for this?!_ Lelouch's gaze narrowed as he looked at the screen. His surprise wasn't as pleasant as others.

"Well where do you think your tuition is going?" Cecile smiled as she cocked her head to the side, the students all nearly stumbled out of their seats. Having a little laugh to herself, Cecile moved on wards.

"Well then, all week next week you will be..." The explanation began but the thoughts were running wild. Eyes went wide and looked away from the screen.

_What? All week, I can't stay away for that long! And what's more...! _Lelouch's mind was doing back-flips around his situation. Leaving town for this thing was not something he had in mind.

"Hey, are you even paying attention?" The hushed question came from Kallen as she noticed his turned position, her glare came like it always did.

"Oh, sorry, I guess I'm getting a little excited about this." Lelouch turned around with a convincing smile that eased Kallen's glare somehow as her expression became much more relaxed. Oh...

"...Well calm down, we haven't even done anything yet." She said rather quietly before she slowly turned back around, her eyes leaving him at an even slower pace. Didn't expect to hear something like that come out of his mouth.

"In fact, we have even decided to rename this year's contest to the Ashford Academy Survival Challenge." The twosome heard as their attention returned to the presentation. The screen still had the image of Kamine Island on it, thankfully not too much was missed.

"Starting on Monday, you will all partake in events against each other, a different event each day; the events will challenge you all physically, mentally, as well as test your trust. This will go on until Friday, after all five main events are over. After that, the two highest ranking teams will move on to compete in the Final Event to determine the winners." Cecile laid down the plan as someone raised their hand.

"I'll just ask it, how are we going to be ranked?" Rivalz threw it out there.

"I was just getting to that Rivalz." She answered back as a podium with first, second, third, and fourth place platforms appeared on the screen. "You see, when you finish an event you are rewarded points that vary in amount depending on how you finished. For first place, five points are rewarded, three points are given for second place, two for third, and fourth place receives only one point. The two teams that have the highest point totals move on, the others are out of contention."

"Only half of us advance then, this is going to be close." Suzaku thought aloud as he looked at the screen. Cecile smiled and nodded until she caught something in the corner of her eye and reeled it in.

"Oh Anya, please put your phone away for now, thank you." She said as the pink haired girl looked up at her and nodded, slowly putting the cell phone in her pocket. Some of the others eyed the girl as she did this.

"Okay, now that I got all that out of the way; all the living arrangements have been made so don't worry guys your rooms will be away from the girls'." She smiled again as an image of the lodge they would be staying at appeared on the screen. Rivalz slumped his shoulders and jaw dropped, rats!

"All of you will be departing for Kamine Island on Saturday and will return here once the Survival Challenge is over." Cecile told them all. She clicked the lights back on and turned the screen off. "Any questions?"

"Wait Saturday? That's two days from now, I'm not going to have enough time to pack." Milly jumped again, and she had a right too, after all a girl needs time to prepare.

"That's why you're all excused from classes tomorrow in order to prepare." Another smile came from Cecile

"Wait, if we're getting there Saturday what are we going to do until Monday when the games actually begin?" Shirley decided to ask. Hey she was curious! Cecile kept her ongoing smile and shrugged at the ginger.

"Anything you want really, but I would recommend doing some team building with your coaches?" Cecile placed the back of her hands on her hips.

"Coaches?!" Nearly everyone else in the room shouted out. What is this, football?

"Oh yes, think of them as advisers. They're here to help you all really. They..." Cecile said before a knock at the door interrupted her. "Have arrived it seems." She scooted over to the door as fast as her heels could take her.

She slowly opened the door wide enough to poke her head through. The others could hear her whispers to whoever it was that came knocking. After only about half a minute Cecile pulled herself back inside before pulling the door back all the way, opening it to reveal four more people. Lelouch eyed them all as they all walked in and somehow met eyes with the shortest one who came in. Two men and two women the newcomers were, as they walked until they were standing where Cecile was during her presentation. Cecile herself, scurried over in front of them.

"All right competitors, I give you your coaches!" She opened her arms in a theatrical pose as she backed away, to give the coaches the so called spotlight. One of the coaches stepped up and some of the students tensed up.

"Oh man, it's Dean Bismarck!" Rivalz whispered. Bismarck Waldstein, a dean at Ashford who by reputation, was an intimidating man. Standing about Gino's height of six foot three maybe taller, with long kept midnight blue hair, trimmed beard over his chin, strong jaw, muscular form, he was every bit imposing physically as he's made out to be. He has two last names for Pete's sake! (if that counts for anything)

"Is that good?" Suzaku covered his mouth as he asked the bluenette next to him. Then from the other side of him Shirley leaned in.

"Good? I heard he made a guy wet himself, just by looking at him!" She hushed her teammate's question. "Pray we don't get set up with him." Suzaku still wasn't worried as he looked on at the dean who cleared his throat.

"Ashford and Weinberg!" He snapped, causing the two blondes to jump out of their seats, they stood straight, stiff as boards, like privates waiting for their sergeants demands. Even Milly, the _headmaster's_ granddaughter was frightened by this guy.

"Yes sir!" They said simultaneously as the rest sighed in relief.

"You two are with me, I expect nothing but the best out of you. Is that understood?" Bismarck actually cracked his stone face into a grin as his team that consisted of Milly and Gino nodded in compliance.

"I can't hear you!" He shouted, startling them as they nearly stumbled, but they recovered and resumed their positions.

"Sir yes sir!" They shouted. Satisfied with their responses, Bismarck decided enough was enough and stepped back as Gino and Milly sat back down as rigid and as stiffly as they could.

Next to step up was someone none of the students had really seen before. Since she was standing before them they assumed that she must work for the school, but she sure didn't look like it. This woman looked like she was a student at Ashford herself. Standing about five foot six, a little shorter than Kallen, long green hair that reached down to her bottom, golden yellow eyes, no doubt she looked good, but who the heck was she? Her eyes scanned the rest of the group back and forth a couple of times before she started moving. Slowly her steps took her little by little until she was standing in front of another pair.

"You're Kallen and Lelouch, correct?" She spoke with such a soothing sound, despite saying something inquisitive.

"Uh...Yes, that's us." Kallen answered as she blinked at the green haired woman.

"I'm assuming you're our coach then?" Lelouch crossed his arms, leaning further back in his chair. The woman brought her gaze over to him and the two locked eyes, just as they did when she first walked in.

"Yes I am." She affirmed. "You may not know me since I'm relatively new here at Ashford as a guidance counselor, but don't worry, you don't have to call me by any titles, C.C. is fine."

"Just your initials?" Kallen raised a brow at her for the...off introduction as Lelouch looked intently. C.C. nodded. Laughter was heard coming from the other side of the room.

"Ha-ha, _you're _our coach Orange Boy! Awesome...!" Rivalz howled like a hyena when his and Anya's coach presented himself. Jeremiah Gottwald was his name, but the students devised another title for him.

"What did you say?" Jeremiah leaned over the table as his turquoise hair bounced.

"He called you Orange Boy, Orange Boy." Anya said as she quickly snapped a picture of him on her cell phone.

"Ah, p-put that away! One mishap at the school festival last year and I still get mocked. Teenagers are so cruel." Jeremiah whined. He was a molder of young minds, a successful History teacher, yet he was taken less seriously than other teachers thanks to a certain accident involving the aforementioned citrus fruit at last year's school festival.

"Oh! You're going to be _our_ coach, Coach Villetta." Shirley smiled up at the dark skinned woman that stood before her and Suzaku. Villetta Nu, normally the coach of the school's swim-team which Shirley was a part of, as well as a gym instructor, however at this moment she didn't seem very enthusiastic as the deep sigh she took indicated.

"Yes Shirley." Villetta said dryly. _Talk about getting the short end of the stick. _She thought.

"Well since you already know each other, this should go smoothly don't 'ya think?" Suzaku suggested with a friendly smile as he looked up at his new coach.

"S-sure, as long as you two work together, we'll do fine." Villetta said through a false smile as her eyebrow twitched. _I swear Shirley, if you make this anything like last year's Open House, you'll be swimming laps until you drown...!_ The newly appointed coach internally threatened the ginger who continued to politely smile at her.

Flashbacks of the previously mentioned Open House where while introducing incoming students to the school's athletic program, Villetta was bumped into by Shirley causing her to fall into the pool causing the white button up shirt to become a see through. Sure it was an accident, but an embarrassment nonetheless, along with many other of her encounters with Shirley Fenette.

"All right, that's all I have to say for now. I look forward to working with you two." C.C. said as she turned to walk away from her team, taking a step but then stopped. Kallen and Lelouch watched her back, waiting for her to do or say something. All they received however, was an over the shoulder glance before C.C. walked over to where Cecile and Bismarck were situated. Kallen kept her eyes on her and thought.

_Ugh, just great, now I have a weirdo for a coach. This is going to be..._

_Good, C.C. says she's a guidance counselor here. That could be very useful to me right now, but I won't make any decisions until I speak with Nunnally._ Lelouch concluded as he remained silent, hunched over in his seat.

"I still need to know why." He mumbled into his folded hands, but he didn't go unheard.

"What was that?" Kallen looked over. Lelouch sat himself up and looked back.

"Nothing, just thinking aloud is all." The same cautious look from her was the only response, like she was studying him, trying to find out what was going on inside. Maybe this was good thing for Lelouch, if he does work with Kallen, he's going to have to improve his relationship with her and one needs to walk before they can run.

"Okay, I think that's enough for today everyone!" Cecile called out, ceasing the ongoing interactions between teams and coaches, Rivalz still giggling over the hand he was just dealt.

"Before you leave, remember to report to you fourth period classes immediately." Came the booming command. All the students stiffened in their seats.

"Yes, Dean Bismarck!" They all said in unison.

"Always so charming...Well I suppose this is farewell until Saturday, so see you all then." Cecile dismissed the competitors as they stood up from their seats beginning to leave. "Oh and don't forget to bring your bathing suits!" One last reminder came to them before they left.

The teams were picked, the law was laid down, introductions were made, now the only thing everyone had to do for the Survival Challenge was wait.

* * *

The rest of the school day passed by rather quickly for Lelouch as he went to all of his classes. Perhaps the day seemed to go by faster for him because he couldn't get the one thought out of his mind.

"Nunnally..." He muttered as he walked into the Ashford manor following his last class of the day.

It was the most pressing issue at hand for Lelouch. Just what possessed his sister to fill out a registration form in his name for something he clearly wasn't in favor of? He continued to dwell on that thought all throughout the day, even as he walked into the west wing of the building where he and his sister lived.

Slowly he opened the door to the main area of their dwelling and sure enough there was Nunnally, sitting at the table typing away on the laptop computer. The click of the closing door caught her attention.

"Oh good, Lelouch you're back!" She greeted her big brother with a smile. "I heard what happened earlier, congratu..."

"Why did you do it Nunnally?" He interrupted. Dropping her smile, Nunnally became confused. It sounded like he was accusing her of a crime.

"What are you talking about?" She furrowed her brow as a stray finger began to run through her hair; Lelouch took notice of her actions.

"Don't play dumb, I know you signed me up for the Senior Challenge." He called her out. Nunnally's eyes went wide as she dropped her spinning extremity.

"You found out huh?" Busted...! She didn't put up much of a defense, the cat was out of the bag already so what was the point.

"Well no one else knows enough of my personal information to fill out the registration form." Lelouch explained and it was pretty obvious.

"Oh." She sighed, realizing holes in her plotted surprise. Why couldn't she ever pull one on her brother?

"Plus, you always twirl your hair when you're trying to hide something. It's a pretty easy 'tell'." He said, using his gaming terms, pointing at the long brown strands of hair that framed Nunnally's face that was twisted into a grimace.

"Well are you happy with it? It wouldn't be a very good surprise otherwise." She chuckled as she spoke and to her delight a smile crept up on Lelouch's face.

"Hmm, I'm not sure yet, the competition hasn't started yet." Wait, does that mean...?

"You mean you're going to go through with it!" She nearly shouted in delight. Her plan was a success! But Lelouch dropped his grin and his gaze intensified, uh-oh.

"Only if you tell me the real reason why you went through the trouble of forging my signature on this sign-up sheet." He waved a paper in his hand, a copy of the registration form that was filled out in his name and pushed it across the table until it stopped in front of his sister.

Her hand hovered over the paper as her brow furrowed, her eyes looked over the filled out sections. Lelouch _was_ right, that was her handwriting in the spaces along with the mimic signature that read as his name. He made it sound like she really did commit a crime, darn him.

"You don't have to answer right away, but do so soon." She heard him say, sounding a little gentler before his footsteps began to trail off as he approached his room.

"Lelouch wait." The footsteps stopped. He turned around waiting for something.

"I know what I did was wrong by not getting your consent for this, but I don't regret doing it."

"Then why do it?" Lelouch asked. Nunnally looked down at the paper in her hands as she gripped it tighter.

"Well...I just want you to have fun Lelouch." She looked up. Have fun? Lelouch sighed. She didn't do this just on a whim did she?

"Nunnally...!" He raised his voice slightly and Nunnally knew the tone, like a lecture was about to begin but she wouldn't let that happen.

"No Lelouch, lately it seems that all you do is stress. At school, home, even when you're out all night, you always have that tense look on your face. So when I heard about the Senior Challenge this year, I thought it'd be a good opportunity to get your mind off things and loosen up. And the fact that Suzaku and the others were also picked should make this even better, shouldn't it? To be with all of your friends, what could be better?" Nunnally...

_So that's it, she was only worried about me, but that's the last thing I want her to be. _Lelouch looked down as he thought. He didn't want Nunnally to fuss over him, and if doing this will make her happy, then so be it. He brought his gaze back up to her as a small smile appeared.

_"_I don't know what is Nunnally. Now if you excuse me there are a few things I need to take care of for when I leave on Saturday. Preparing for this thing is going to take a little time." Lelouch declared before turning into his room, leaving behind a sister who couldn't be happier.

Just outside the Ashford manor, Milly and Shirley were currently walking together as they conversed.

"Yeah well, I'm going to have to go to the mall tomorrow anyways, I need some more sports wear for next week after all." The Ashford girl decided as she and Shirley stopped just outside the doorway.

"I know, but at least we don't have any classes tomorrow and good thing, we were getting bombarded with questions from anyone else." Shirley said, recalling the huddle of students that surrounded her and the others in between classes trying to get info on the Survival Challenge.

"Speaking of questions, are you upset that you're not on the same team as Lu-Lu?" The class president asked causing her ginger friend to jump, startled.

"Ah, M-Milly!" Shirley's face grew a shade of red and a little angry. Lelouch was right upstairs, what if he heard?!

"What? I'm just asking since both you and he were selected, and now you have to go up against him for the grand prize." Milly shrugged, defending her inquiry, but she raised another question.

"What is the grand prize anyway? Do you have any idea?" But all Milly could do was shake her head.

"No, Gramps has been pretty quiet about the whole thing and believe me, I've been hounding him all day." She explained before a beeping noise was heard. Shirley reached into her bag and pulled out her phone.

"All right, I should get going now. I have to get ready for Saturday." Shirley said as she gave Milly a slight wave before turning.

"Yes, go and prepare yourself to do battle with Lu-Lu." Milly teased as she opened the door to her house, Shirley stumbled and nearly fell. That's right, Lelouch and Nunnally live in the same house as Milly does.

"Milly!" Shirley's face was even redder than before but when she turned around all she could see was the door swing shut. Letting out a sigh to calm her nerves, Shirley began walking, making her way back home, but that's when she looked up and found something in the corner of her eye.

It was Lu-Lu, she could see him through the window. He must be in his bedroom, as she could see him sitting at his desk, looking intently at something, studying it. Shirley took another sigh.

"Oh Lelouch, Milly's right, I am upset. But this shouldn't be something that gets in the way, should it?" She thought aloud. Then, without warning, Lelouch turned his head to look outside. Fearing that her admission might have been heard, the frantic Shirley darted away from the house, rushing to get off campus, her face red again.

"I could have swore I heard my name being called just now. Oh well, I still have work to do." Lelouch said as he looked out his window, getting a view of the school campus before he faced his computer again. Reaching over his desk, Lelouch grabbed his cell phone and dialed the number he recently learned. The he proceeded to make a few clicks and stopped once he arrived to an e-mail inbox.

"Now then, let's see if I can find out more about you Gino, Anya, and especially you Kallen."

* * *

"No I don't know anything else. Yes I'm sure! Okay, goodbye!" Kallen quickly stepped through the door of her apartment and slammed it behind her, separating herself from the small crowd of students that had been hanging around her ever since she got back from Cecile's presentation. Some were her girlfriends, and Tamaki, but most were complete strangers.

"Man, this popularity thing isn't what it's all cracked up to be is it?" Kallen mused to herself, back still to the door. Thankfully the clamoring from the crowd of her peers quieted down, they must have been leaving. Then a couple of loud knocks were heard, the force of them making Kallen jump away from the door.

"Hey Kallen, let me in." She heard the familiar obnoxious tone whine from the other side, it could only be one person.

"Piss off Tamaki, I'm tired!" Kallen hollered as she looked through the peephole on her door, finding Tamaki's eye right in front of her. Didn't he know that it only works one way? The idiot.

"Come on, please? I won't annoy you about the Survival Challenge for too long. Only a dozen questions or so." She rolled her eyes.

"Don't you have a part time job you have to go to?" She said, pressing her ear against the door. She could hear his groveling from the hall.

"Ah, you suck." He mumbled before he wasn't in the peephole's view anymore, Kallen chuckled in her mild victory, mua-ha-ha.

"Mother, I'm home!" She called out, turning away from the door. "Mother?" There was still no reply as Kallen walked further inside.

"Did she go out somewhere, I don't see a note anywhere." Kallen said to herself as she turned down the corridor and into the living room. There she was, sleeping on the couch again. She's been dozing off during the day a lot lately, perhaps due to the new job she picked up last month. As Kallen stepped towards her sleeping mother, a smell took over her senses, like something was burning.

"Moth-" Kallen leaned in, about to wake her, but her mother shot up from the couch herself in a panic, surprising Kallen to the point of falling back.

"Ah!" She shouted as she rushed past a confused Kallen into the kitchen area to the oven, quickly slipping on oven mitts and opening the appliance to a cloud of black smoke, which caused the smoke alarm to go off. Acting fast, Kallen grabbed a dish rag and fanned the alarm sensors off while her mother pulled out what was supposed to be baked salmon out of the oven.

"I guess we're ordering take out again tonight." Kallen said as she and her mother peered down at the charred mass that was supposed to be their dinner.

"Yeah, I guess so." Her mother said with a little laughter in her voice as she exchanged amused glances with her daughter. Kallen turned and reached for the phone that was mounted on the wall.

"Oh that reminds me, your school called here earlier today." Her mother said, getting Kallen to turn her attention away from the phone. Kallen's eyes went wide.

"That wasn't me on the..." She tried to plea but her mother kept speaking.

"They said that you were selected to participate in that Senior Challenge this year!" She heard her mother say.

"O-oh yeah, right!" Kallen gave an innocent smile.

"I'm sorry, were you saying something?" Her mother asked.

"No." Kallen quickly shook her head, denying her outburst. Her mother looked at her for a second before continuing.

"Anyway, they said that they're sending you to Kamine Island for a week! Oh honey that sounds so exciting!" Mother Kozuki was so elated she grabbed Kallen by her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug.

"Yeah, it is." Kallen replied slowly.

"They said there's some prize involved, I hope you and your partner win!" Her mother said as she continued the embrace. Kallen was a little busy processing her words. Her partner Lelouch did seem to show some interest in the contest earlier when she thought he didn't care at all, so maybe things wouldn't be as bad as she thought. Kallen picked her arms up and hugged her mother back.

"I hope so too." She said quietly, squeezing tighter.

"Hey mom?" Breaking the brief silence between the two, Kallen pulled away.

"Yeah?"

"That fish is beginning to stink." She said, bringing both their attentions to the charred fish that was still on the counter.

"Oh right!" Her mother laughed before tending to the matter at hand.

* * *

"So what do you think of them?" Bismarck said as he and the other coaches sat in the conference room, now empty of any students. He didn't get any response for his question as she continued to flip through the record folders of a couple of students.

"C.C.!" He raised his voice.

"Yes?" She responded, not taking her eyes away from her reading.

"I asked you about your team for the Survival Challenge. We all gave our thoughts about our own groups, now it's time to hear you out." Bismarck explained, Villetta and Jeremiah waited in their seats for an answer. Closing the folders, C.C. tossed the on the table revealing them to be the records of Kallen and Lelouch before she turned in her chair.

"To be honest I think they'll finish dead last." She admitted. The others gawked at her prediction.

"Your not a 'glass half full' kind of person are you." Villetta suggested as she crossed her arms, raising a smirk at her fellow coach. C.C. moved her eyes over to the silver haired woman before glancing at the others.

"Given their backgrounds I'd say they'd get along, but after speaking with them it's clear. The communication between them is terrible, and if they can't get over themselves then they'd just be wasting their time on that island. It's a shame too, they both could really use the rewards that are at stake." Was her reasoning, and talk about being painfully honest.

"I'll take that as you being a pessimist." Jeremiah assumed, C.C. just shook her head.

"No, I'm more of a realist, and Jeremiah...?" She turned to him.

"Yes?"

"I wonder, why _do _the students refer to you as Orange Boy?" She asked, and once the question came out, Jeremiah slumped his shoulders and hung his head.

"It's a long story...!" He sulked.

* * *

**Chapter 2 END:**

Leave a review!

Finally! That took longer than expected!

Gee, C.C. is pretty harsh isn't she? But who knows, maybe there's a method to her madness?

And poor Orange Boy hahahaha!

Well the rules have been set and now the teams prepare themselves for the encroaching Survival Challenge.

In case you want to see it again, the teams are:

Team - Coach

Anya/Rivalz - Jeremiah (orange)

Milly/Gino - Bismarck

Kallen/Lelouch - C.C.

Suzaku/Shirley - Villetta

How do you like the coaches? I'm unsure of the idea still but oh well...

And again, leave a review, I want to know how I'm doing do far. I'm new to Geass fics.

Also, I am going to be taking down my other Code Geass fic, 'Lelouch, The Aftermath' once this gets posted. I read it again recently and I absolutely hate it. I'm going to rewrite it and improve it greatly so if you like this story so far stick around for that one as well!

**Next Time: **

The competitors each prepare for their departure in their own way. Meanwhile another conflict rises up against Lelouch and the teams learn a little more about each other.

* * *

;D


	3. Part 3: Arrangement

**Title: **Code Geass: Survival Challenge

**Author:** SkyDragonKing

**Genre: **Drama/Action

**Rating:** T

**Summary:** The most exciting of Ashford Academy's yearly traditions takes place as couples are selected to compete and win the fabulous grand prize! This is an AU story plz read & review!

* * *

**Chapter 3 START:**

Well to start off I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited and/or is following this story. My heart goes out to you, and it is your feedback that helps motivate me to keep writing and creating. (I am so damn cheesy!)

Get ready because things are about to get serious in this chapter as the competitors prepare to leave for Kamine Island and the Survival Challenge.

* * *

Lelouch frowned as he walked. He had just left his home in the Ashford manor after seeing Nunnally off to her classes. Nothing his sister did that made him upset, granted that she volunteered him to participate in the Survival Challenge, in fact he was currently on his way to stock up for the competition. He needed to get some supplies for his week stay on Kamine Island, but that's not what had him grumbling either.

The night before...

Lelouch sat in front of his computer like he had been for the past three hours or so, glaring at the screen. He was trying his best to find information on the participants he didn't already know. So that left him to do his research on Gino, Anya, and Kallen.

"It looks like I have a bit of a tomboy on my hands." He mumbled as he scrolled through a profile of Kallen. Pictures of her participating in school sporting events for the volleyball and soccer teams, he even found some images of her in a karate gi. Another workout freak like Suzaku, and Gino too, it seems.

Lelouch closed that window, and like he did with Gino and Anya, he pulled up her grades. They were pretty good, not as good as his, or Anya's for that matter, but definitely better than most other students he knew. Smart, athletic, gorgeous, a little miss perfect isn't she? Wait, did he just...whatever.

As he scanned through the various pictures that were available Lelouch noticed something, rather someone. In most of Kallen's pictures there was also a guy, pretty tall, brown hair. He appeared alongside Kallen often, maybe he was a relative, or a family friend, but Lelouch couldn't find him in more recent pictures. Did something happen between Kallen and this guy?

Lelouch pondered every possibility; he was going to be working with Kallen all throughout this Survival Challenge and he needed to know all that he could about her.

"But it looks like my information is incomplete, only transcripts, and social network links were given to me. Perhaps my source is to blame." Lelouch grumbled as he presently walked off the Ashford campus, a set of eyes carefully watching him as he went.

* * *

"W-w-what, you're l-leaving...?!" A male student cried, frantic was his expression as he leaned forward in his seat. His silver hair a mess as the large headphones rested around his neck.

"Yes Mao, I told you that I would be participating the Senior Challenge this year." C.C. said as she sat behind her desk while she made one last click on her computer before turning to face the troubled young man in front of her. Mao rose up from his seat and smacked a hand down on the desk.

"But for how long?!" He shouted again before hands reached for his face. C.C. held his visage, making Mao quiet.

"Calm down Mao, I'll be gone a little over a week that's all." Her calm voice relaxed him, his expression eased. C.C. let go and sat back down in her chair.

"Now get to class with before the bell rings, I don't want you getting into any more trouble, understand?" Mao slowly nodded before he picked up his backpack and walked out of her office where his escort, was waiting, C.C. seeing him leave sighed.

"Mao Silva; what am I going to do with that boy?" She asked herself, but when the door closed her attention returned to her computer. "Well I'll have to forget it for now, I have another issue to deal with."

With a click she returned to what she was doing before Mao's brief tantrum. She scrolled her mouse around as she skimmed through the windows. The very same pages Lelouch had looked through the night before.

"He was clever, using my position here as a means to getting information." C.C. thought aloud about Lelouch as she looked over the sent files. "However, I didn't give him everything; if he really wants information, Lelouch is going to have to do it the old fashioned way."

* * *

Kallen walked down the street having left the nearby market place holding a small bundle of flowers, about four or five, of color that nearly matched her hair. She was strolling along alone down the busy street. Looking down mostly, Kallen wasn't very aware of her surroundings as she clutched the plastic wrapping around the flowers, holding it close to her chest.

"After I'm done with this then I can finally get..." She mumbled until something came rushing towards her.

"Rrr, meow!" It clashed into her as it jumped, knocking the flowers out of her hands. A cat, a black cat had leapt, making a crash course with Kallen. She stumbled back as she managed to catch the nero neko run off around the corner out of the corner of her eye before she regained balance.

"What the hell was...Wah!" She began to ponder until something else managed to grab her attention, making her turn her head.

"Get back here, you smelly cat! Ah...!" Was all he said until he tried to stop running, but smashed right into Kallen causing both of them to fall to the ground. Kallen heard a crunch as she landed, looking down she found what broke her fall.

"D-dammit!" She winced, seeing the smushed flowers underneath her.

"I'm so sorry mis- wait, Kallen?!" The crash test dummy that bumped into her said. How did this schmuck know who she was? It didn't matter, since she was going to pummel whoever...

"Suzaku?" She looked up from her crumpled petals to find her classmate kneeling in front of her. A hand was offered from him. She swatted it away and rose up on her own, dusting herself off.

"Was that cat yours by any chance?" Kallen asked moving towards him, the irritation clear in her tone. His eyes searched and scanned, looking up, down, left and right for any sign of that feline.

"No, my sensei's, but my watch got caught in its collar. Why, did you..." He explained, turning to her before his eyes trailed down and found the destroyed plants in her hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that." Suzaku rubbed the back of his neck with a look of guilt on his face.

"Eh, don't worry, they weren't for me anyway." She said as she flung them into the conveniently located trash can next to her. "I had a run in with that cat, but it's long gone by now."

"Damn!" He cursed, tensing up. "I can't lose that watch...!" Suzaku grumbled, his fist shaking at his side. Kallen quizzically looked at him with a brow raised.

"Why do you care so much?" She asked, and without looking back he answered her.

"It belonged to my father, I wanted to bring it with me when we leave tomorrow...damn!" Suzaku explained, his teeth gritted. Kallen could clearly see his frustration and her curiosity cleared.

"I feel bad I didn't catch him for you." Kallen expressed her sudden grief as she stood next to him. Suzaku seemed to have relaxed some as his sigh indicated.

"It's okay, you didn't know." He said. "I guess I should continue getting ready for tomorrow. I'll see you later." Now he seemed more melancholy than anything, but suddenly it occurred to Kallen. She usually sees Suzaku with her new partner right?

"Hey wait, Suzaku...?" He felt her hand grasp on to his shoulder. Kallen saw the puzzled expression he wore, maybe he could give her some insight into who she was dealing with.

* * *

"Hey Lelouch...!" He heard a familiar voice call out to him upon entering. Lelouch had finally made his way to the mall after riding the train for a couple of stops, but during the trip he couldn't shake some weird feeling, the same one that he usually gets when Shirley stares at him during English class. His suspicions however, would have to wait.

"Milly; I should have guessed that you'd be here." Milly's eyes rolled at Lelouch's joking remark as he approached her.

"And a good morning to you too Lelouch. Running some errands before we leave tomorrow?" She asked as she gave him a quick scan. Red jacket, black shirt underneath, gray pants, black shoes, his typical non-school attire. Lelouch spotted something out of the corner of his eye, coming from the opposite end of the room.

"Uh, Shirley...?" He hesitated as a small mountain of bags came staggering towards him. A head of blue hair peeked out from behind the pile of designer labels.

"N-no it's me...ah, wah!" Rivalz cried as he stumbled on a stray pant leg that poked out of one of the many bags he was carrying and clothes flew everywhere!

"Milly, this is the last time I let you talk me into this...!" The dazed Riv proclaimed as he was lost under scrambled outfits and accessories while Lelouch stepped over with and outstretched hand.

"Thanks bud!" Rivalz thanked his friend after he was brought to his feet, Lelouch dusted a stray sock off his shoulder.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Lelouch asked amusingly. He was pretty sure he knew why, but it was fun just to ask. While rubbing the sore spot on his head, Rivalz answered.

"Well _I_ came here to just get a new toothbrush but I ran into _Milly_ who asked me to come with her saying she'd get me lunch." He explained as he put the back of his hands on his hips. "But I should have seen what was coming." Sending a suspicious glare Milly's way.

"Hey, you didn't have to say 'yes' you know?" Milly reminded him, hands on her hips. Lelouch looked around at all of the articles laying around him as Rivalz began picking some up.

"What is all of this anyway?" He asked as Milly walked over to help in the clean-up.

"Just some things for our trip tomorrow." She turned with a smile as she restocked one of her many shopping bags. Lelouch looked baffled as he just blinked at her.

"You know we're only going away for a week right?" Lelouch reminded Milly before Rivalz tossed a bunch of clothes into a random bag.

"That's what I told her!" The blue haired boy whined. Milly crossed her arms and huffed.

"You guys just don't understand women!" She pouted as Rivalz picked up a few more pieces of clothes.

"Whatever, as long as I get my chili dog." He said with his usual smile, handing her the clothes.

"Oh, that reminds me. Lelouch?" Milly turned to the raven haired student who was studying the crowd outside the store window, but she got through to him.

"Hmm?" He looked over to the other two as they stood by each other's side.

"Care to join us? I'm buying lunch after all." Milly offered.

"And everything in sight it seems." A smirk complemented his joke. Lelouch took another look at the two, Rivalz seemed stressed when Milly had asked Lelouch to accompany them, but Lelouch knew better.

"No thanks, I just need to get a few things before I finish packing." He rejected her with a passing smile. Milly just blinked but Rivalz cracked a grin.

"O-okay, if you say so." Milly said before Lelouch turned and walked away, leaving her and Rivalz by themselves as he stepped out into the Plaza.

As he walked a small smile crept up on Lelouch's face. "How does she _not_ see it? He makes it pretty obvious after all." He mumbled behind his smirk as he walked in the noisy crowd. But that's when something else caught his attention.

That same feeling he had on the train came over him. Was he being followed. He turned his head from side to side before pivoting to see behind him. It wasn't until after he made the turn did he realize the futility of picking a face out of a constantly moving crowd. Maybe he was just being paranoid, but he could've swore... He grunted before straightening himself out and continued walking, but that feeling wouldn't subside.

* * *

"Remember to be easy on the gear changes." A stern male voice called out as the big, beautifully crafted wooden doors opened up before a tall blonde walked out.

"Yes sir." He said blandly as he walked across the paver stone walkway that merged into the looping driveway as it sat in front of the huge luxury home.

"And remember you have t-, Gino are you listening?" The voice barked as it became louder.

"Yeah, dad!" Gino huffed as he adjusted his hold on the keys, looping his finger around the golden ring. Out stepped said father; about the same height as his son, the well built man with gray edged brown hair stood atop the steps in front of the large doors. He didn't look pleased.

"You better, I don't want a repeat of what happened last spring. That car is very exclusive you know!" His father reminded him pointing at his only son. A grimace overcame Gino's expression.

"Anything else?" He said but his father kept the same dissatisfied look until he backed into the house, shutting the doors and leaving Gino alone. As soon as the doors closed, the smile was dropped and suddenly Gino looked very irritated as the hand holding the keys to the precious car clenched tight.

"How about I just save him the trouble...!" He said to himself as he threw the keys high up, landing on the roof of the house. "I'm going to the park." Telling no one, Gino turned, storming out of the property, but not before giving a good kick to the rear tire of his father's precious car.

"I tell them I get chosen for the Challenge, nothing. I say I need to go out and get ready, I get lectured. A week away from them is just what I need!" He grumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he turned around the stone gate that bordered his home.

"They don't get anything!"

He growled, giving the place he called 'home' one last glance before resuming his storming out; down the street, around the corner and away Gino went.

He eventually made it to the park and found himself a nice spot under a big old tree covered in shade. Since it was a school day, one that he was excused from, the surrounding area was pretty empty, quiet, peaceful, the perfect place for him to chill out and relax before tomorrow.

Lying down with his hands behind his head, Gino was ready for some R & R. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of fresh air, but when he opened his eyes a surprise was waiting for him.

"What are _you_ doing here?!" He narrowed his gaze as he looked up at the newcomer standing over him. "Luciano." He said. Luciano Bradley, another student at Ashford, he was rather tall, orange hair worn in a mullet style, rather slim, stood over Gino with a smirk on his face.

"Taking a day off from school are we? But then again, you were excused from classes today, am I right? I on the other hand..." Luciano raised a brow as Gino shot up and angrily met his curious gaze.

"Take it easy now Gino." He mused but Gino wasn't feeling particularly playful today. "I just decided to take a personal day and look for my _close_ friend. Is that so wrong?"

"What do you want, Luciano?" Getting right down to it.

"Nothing, I just want to know why you've been avoiding me lately? You know, considering our..._friendship _and all." The lanky male leaned in very close with his last word, giving Gino another smirk while in his personal space. Wide eyed, Gino took a step back.

"I...t-that has nothing to do with anything! It was one time and nothing else!" The blonde began shouting which only seemed to amuse Luciano as he stepped close to Gino.

"Is that so? Well then while you're away, why don't I go and tell everyone about our little secret." He said before a fist rammed into the side of his face, causing Luciano to stumble back, nearly falling over. Gino now stood over him, his fist still clenched.

"Like anyone is going to believe you?!"

"You may think that, but with the Class President accompanying you, the school will basically be an open forum where I will be able to proclaim to our peers that one of their favorites, Gino Weinberg is nothing but a fa...!" Luciano explained before another punch from Gino knocked him down, but he was probably right. Milly was the Academy Queen of Gossip, whom all rumors went through, and if she was going away to Kamine Island with Gino and the others then, no Luciano can't be right, right?!

"Argh, shut up!" Gino snarled. Slowly Luciano rose up, holding the point of contact on his face, which was now swollen and bruised as yet another smirk found its way to him.

"Then_ you_ say it. It's pretty easy you know? Three little words, come on. I...am..." He tried to get it out but his so called _friend_ wouldn't bite.

"Go fuck yourself! How're those three words for you?" Gino glared at him, fists held tight at his sides ready to fire again. To his surprise however, the ginger turned around and began to walk away, but stopped. Looking over his shoulder, Luciano gave another wicked smirk.

"You better win this competition then, or else you'll be in for a rude awakening when you get back." He heard Luciano say. Why was today so difficult?!

"Damn you...!" Gino growled at his blackmailer's retreating form.

"Until next time." Luciano turned to face Gino one last time, bidding him farewell with a wink as he walked off leaving Gino alone, but now relaxation wouldn't come.

* * *

They walked together down the street as they left the seaport, bags in hand were signs that much was done already today and it was only about noon. The smell of fish lingering did nothing really to affect the twosome as they walked.

"It's just...I never would've guessed...!" Kallen muttered as she looked down.

"Lelouch doesn't seem like the 'Straight 'A' Gambler' anymore, does he?" Suzaku smirked at her.

When she stopped him earlier, he thought she would be upset over those flowers she lost. Turns Kallen wanted some info on Lelouch, which struck Suzaku rather oddly. Then again he _was_ Lelouch's friend and hung around the guy a lot, so it wasn't a total surprise that Kallen would ask him about her Survival Challenge partner. So, they've been spending much of the day so far together as he carefully told her certain things about Lelouch.

"Not really, no, but why does he involve himself in such shady situations like that?" Kallen looked up at Suzaku quizzically as they waited at the street corner for the light to change. What else was changing was the thoughts of Suzaku.

"Um, look Kallen..." He said with a look of uncertainty as he looked ahead, the light beginning to change. She looked at him the same way as she was, wanting answers, waiting so Suzaku could tell her. "What is it Suzaku?" Kallen asked, allowing him to continue.

"You see, Lelouch is a pretty private person and he likes to keep to himself. I don't know how much of him I should be telling you about; he'd probably get ticked if he knew what I told you already. I'm sorry but I don't think it's my place to blab on about him without him knowing." Suzaku admitted as the light finally changed, letting him and Kallen cross the street.

"It's alright, I think I know all that I need to anyways. Thanks for telling me." When she thanked him, Kallen could see Suzaku loosen up. She hadn't realized the water she was treading in, until then, but she was glad that Suzaku shared what he knew.

"I still can't get over the fact that - Suzaku?" She began to say until she looked over and found Suzaku looking ahead, surprised at something.

"T-that damn cat...!" He grumbled angrily. The same black cat that jumped into Kallen, the same black cat that still had Suzaku's watch stuck in its collar as it sat on the sidewalk eating leftovers of someone's fried fish that it probably stole.

"Guess it just wanted some lunch." Kallen said amused but Suzaku wasn't feeling the joy. "Huh?" Kallen blurted as he slowly stepped towards the feasting feline.

"Ta-ma...!" He growled through gritted teeth, the cat stopped upon hearing it's name and darted its eyes towards the familiar face coming towards him. "Meow...?"

"Argh, Tama get back here!" Suzaku cried before he began to run after the fleeing cat, kicking up a cloud of dust as he chased, leaving Kallen behind.

"Should I go after him...?" She pondered as she watched the pursuit unfold, Suzaku and the cat, Tama, running down and across the streets. Gee, he's really fast. "Nah, I should finish what I was doing earlier." She dismissed herself from the chase and walked off, letting a small smile escape her as she gave her soon to be opponent one last look.

* * *

Shirley sighed for what had to be the hundred thousandth time as she placed yet another bikini into her suitcase, pink of course since it was her favorite color and all. Alas, the light and vibrant hues of her luggage did nothing for her mood. She knew she was supposed to be excited about tomorrow, seeing how she was leaving and all but Shirley could only feel at best, conflicted. Sure Shirley was paired up with her friend Suzaku, which made the possibility of winning the competition easier in theory, making them the most athletic pairing, but it was her competition that had her so down.

"Lu-Lu..." She exhaled, as she reached for her sportswear, preparing to store it for the trip.

"I want to win this thing for sure, but with him and the others in the way, I don't know if I can." Shirley said to the spinning ceiling fan than hung above her room.

To say the least, she was at odds with herself. If she wanted to win whatever this grand prize was, that meant stepping over her friends, Milly Rivalz and...

It bothered her. What Milly said to her yesterday, about not being paired up with Lelouch, was also eating at her. What's more was the person that was _his_ partner, Kallen! Shirley had seen all those passing glares the two gave each other at the assembly, during Cecile's presentation, and she felt the tension. Thanks to reading through the countless gossip magazines the Prez had lying around, Shirley knew that that kind of relationship between a male and female could only end in one of two ways; a negative argument based one, or an intense and passiona- AH!

No, no, no! She couldn't think like that. Instead, instead she had to, she had to...!

"I have to win this! I can't just sit and let...and let Suzaku down..." Shirley almost whispered those last few words. She wanted to say something else, that despite the fact that she was alone in her room, she just couldn't say aloud.

"I know he has a lot at stake too."

* * *

Lelouch walked into the main structure of the train terminal. Having just finished running his errands for the day he left the busy mall, but not before catching a quick glimpse of Milly still walking in and out of stores with Rivalz behind her. While that amused him, he still couldn't shake that feeling from before, like there were eyes on him. It couldn't be paranoia at this point, especially after spotting the same blue baseball cap all day as he shopped. Then again, there was the possibility that it was mere coincidence.

However, now Lelouch would find out if was really being followed or not.

He swiped his transit pass through the gate and entered the main section. A glance over his shoulder revealed the same blue cap from the mall, but there was still a considerable crowd so he couldn't jump to conclusions just yet. He needed to dwindle the crowd.

With a quick a motion as he could muster, Lelouch made for the downtown train platforms. A light jog, but he was moving at a faster pace than almost everyone else he passed by. Looking up at the signs, he made his decision and chose the train that was heading out in two minutes exactly. He picked up the pace a little bit, but not by much. He couldn't start huffing and puffing now, in public, when he might have someone on his tail. Down the ever narrowing corridor and hopping down the stairs skipping steps as he went, Lelouch was confident that whoever it was that may have been following, he lost them if there was anyone to be lost at all.

He made it to the platform and sure enough, the train had just arrived and opened it's doors. Lelouch took deep breaths as he looked around the station, no sight of the blue cap. Maybe he wasn't being tracked after all. Once all the exiting passengers were out of the way Lelouch stepped aboard the train; the line he chose was a bit out of the way but it would eventually reach his stop. He walked to the pole in the center of the car and held on with his lone shopping bag in the other. The doors slid shut as the familiar whistle went off before the train began moving.

It was a bit of a load off. Lelouch honestly thought that someone had been following him, getting that same feeling from ever since he left Ashford now that he had a chance to think about it. It was probably just some lechers from school that wanted to get in good with him before he left for the Survival Challenge. The capped person back at the mall was most likely a coincidence after all; Nunnally was right, he needed to just calm down and relax.

Lelouch looked out the window and saw the exterior of the mall, it looked deceptively small from the outside. Looking away from his distraction, Lelouch brought his gaze ahead of him and into the next car down through the connecting doors.

But, what?! How? Was he really being followed after all?!

He saw the top of the same blue cap he'd been trying to avoid. Whoever was under it had followed him on the train. Lelouch quietly looked down, doing his best to hide his nerves.

_Why is this person following me? Whatever the case I need to get out of sight. _He thought as he looked at his shoes. Just then, a sway of the train car gave just what he needed. The people in front of him swaying gave him the cover he needed to slip away and travel to the car behind him. The top of that blue cap could be seen shifting through the other passengers as it followed. Lelouch kept moving from car to car, going as far back as he could. He turned and there he found the blue cap in the car ahead.

He was cornered. Lelouch reached behind him, at his waistline, grabbing at something as his eyes narrowed at the cap. The train began to slow before it came to a complete halt, making one of its stops. Lelouch kept his gaze ahead of him, on the baseball cap, but he had to make a decision. The sliding doors began to move, closing but Lelouch made a break for it and exited the train promptly. He looked over, and there was the capped person standing on the platform with him.

Lelouch ran this time, leaving the train station as fast as he could. His skipping out on Coach Viletta's gym classes was beginning to show. He made it outside, but his legs could only take him several blocks and a couple of alleyways before exhaustion stopped him. He really needed to start working out with Suzaku some mornings.

The person in the cap was standing not even twenty feet away from him as they were in the middle of an alleyway, in the midst of a rundown old market area packed with small shops that hadn't looked like they had been in business for some time. The pursuer stepped closer when Lelouch reached behind him again, grabbing at something.

Another step made Lelouch drop the shopping bag and pull out what he had been hiding behind him. A silver pistol, locked and loaded was pointed at Lelouch's follower as he held it firmly.

"Why are you following me?!" Lelouch asserted, but no reply came. A warning shot came that skimmed the side of the baseball cap. "Answer!"

That's when the scent of cigarettes filled the air and Lelouch got his answer.

"You know, you're a lot harder to track down than one would think." A rather calm voice said as Lelouch felt a sharp edge press against the back of his head. He knew who it was.

"Xingke...!" Lelouch gasped as his eyes widened.

"Lower the gun and turn around." He heard Xingke order him, like he was a little dog, but he had no choice. Slowly Lelouch dropped his weapon and turned around like he was told. "Good boy!"

He was tall, lean and lethal. Li Xingke stood, looking down on the shorter Lelouch as his long, straight black hair waved behind him as he held a longsword in one hand and a half used cigarette in the other while his black suit and tie remained spotless.

"What do you want Xingke? Why did you..." Lelouch grumbled as the edge of Xingke's sword looked him dead in the face.

"Good work on finding him Rolo, remind me to reward you later." He cut Lelouch off as the capped person removed said accessory to reveal a young boy of about Nunnally's age and of the same features.

"Now then, let's get to business, shall we?" Xingke smirked at the frustrated Lelouch.

"We gave you that fifteen thousand because you said that you could give us a double return on the profit, yet we only received a fraction of that. Care to explain yourself, Lelouch the Straight 'A' Gambler, that _is_ what they call you, right?" Lelouch pursed his lips as Xingke's blade drew ever closer, as the student could almost taste the steel.

"I think that's enough for now Li." Another called out as he stepped out from one of those old shops Lelouch had dismissed earlier. Even taller than Xingke, tousled blonde hair in a style similar to Gino's, violet eyes much like Lelouch's but colder, meaner, the man approached from behind. Xingke placed the cigarette back in his mouth.

"Whatever you say, boss." He muttered before artfully putting his longsword back in his scabbard. The blonde man stepped forward as Lelouch's eyes narrowed.

"Argh, Schneizel...!" He growled as Schneizel knelt down to pick up the fallen gun and handed it back to its owner.

"Now settle down Lelouch, wouldn't want things to get messy now would we?" Schneizel smirked. Lelouch remained silent as he gritted his teeth and furrowed his brows. Seeing that he wouldn't bite for now, the blonde continued.

"Good. Now what Li says is true, it's why I had to track you for days. I never imagined a student would _give_ me so much trouble." Lelouch only maintained his intense gaze on the kingpin who looked down at him. Still Lelouch was quiet.

"I want to know where my _money_ is Lelouch." He didn't yell but Schneizel raised his voice to a considerable degree. Lelouch's frustration only grew as seen through his tightening facial expression. "You know, if I don't receive my tribute from you, then I'm afraid I won't be requiring your services any longer, and you'll never be able to..."

"Argh, enough!" Lelouch shouted before he held up his gun and let off a shot, but it was redirected after something collided with his hand. It stung, like something cut him. From behind Schneizel, Lelouch saw Xingke still in a throwing motion with a knife that was connected to a chord buried in his sleeve. Lelouch grabbed his stricken hand and the blood began to flow from the cut.

"Now now, no need to exacerbate the situation we have at hand." Schneizel mused, giving both Lelouch and Xingke a glance. Xingke only smirked while Lelouch bore anger in his look.

"Rolo?" Schneizel called out before the formerly capped boy walked up to the blonde's side.

"Yes, sir?" He asked. His voice sounded so innocent for someone working for such a shady man.

"Why don't we go inside and clean Mr. Lamperouge's wound up." Schneizel said, surprising both Rolo and Lelouch.

"But why sir?" Rolo asked as Schneizel turned his back to him and the others.

"Well, be it as it may, Lelouch is still a very profitable asset to me and I'd _hate_ to lose him." The kingpin explained before looking over his shoulder, making eye contact with Lelouch who was being reprimanded by the young boy and Xingke who walked over.

"Why don't we make a deal, you and I?" Lelouch's eyes widened a bit as he could see Schneizel's grin peak out from behind his collar.

* * *

Much of the day had already gone by before she even realized it, but Kallen was finally where she wanted to be when she first stepped out of her apartment in the morning. A new bundle of flowers were held tightly in her hands as she stood with the sun to her back and the gentle kiss of the wind around her. It was serene really, but looking down only made her upset.

For beneath her stood the headstone.

_Naoto Kozuki_

_1997 - 2015 _

_A son, brother and friend not to be forgotten._

_Brother_. Her brother, whose grave she stood over with flowers in hand. Slowly she bent down and placed the assorted bouquet against the edge of the stone before a stray tear made it's way down her cheek.

"N-Naoto...!" Kallen begun, her voice shaky, trying not to let emotion overtake her. "I'm s-so sorry! But I promise...!"

"I promise... I'll...!" She said in a hushed tone as the lone tear she shed fell from her and onto the edge of the headstone.

* * *

**Chapter 3: END**

So tell me what you think, and leave a review!

I know I said that this chapter would have everyone arriving at Kamine Island but next time I promise!

Things got too real for a couple of people, so the question is, how will they handle it?

Lelouch seems a little more rough and tough than in the anime, wouldn't you say?

FYI, the name for the cat Tama, is the name Kallen came up with for Arthur in Sound Episode 6.113 "The Name of the King." She said that every cat should be named Tama, so I listened, your welcome Kallen.

What do you think of the Straight 'A' Gambler and Queen of Gossip, Lelouch and Milly? I just thought of them randomly and decided to roll with it. I'm sure they wouldn't mind.

Make your picks; who's going to win this thing and why do you think so? If you're right, you get a cookie :)

Also I should say that I'm a huge Gino x Kallen shipper so Gino, dude I'm sorry about what I'm doing to you here but it's one time only I swear.

Also, I have a new poll up on my profile having to do with Code Geass, so go check it out!

* * *

;D


End file.
